


Pride

by carinascott



Category: Leverage
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-14
Updated: 2011-08-14
Packaged: 2017-10-22 15:09:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/239388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carinascott/pseuds/carinascott
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ficlet response to word prompt: pride</p>
    </blockquote>





	Pride

**Author's Note:**

> Ficlet response to word prompt: pride

“Fine, Parker. Hardy it is.” After she’d explained her reasons for choosing the name, making him feel like an idiot because he hadn’t immediately seen the correlation between Hardy and Hardison, Alec didn’t see any reason to argue his point any further. He might still think of the safe-cracking device as Parker2000, but he’d refer to it as Hardy, if only to keep the real Parker happy.

“You should go after him,” Parker said, looking towards the door.

Stiffening in response to the ‘him’ in question, Hardison ignored her, instead signaling the waitress for a beer.

“You do know that she wasn’t a real nurse, right?” Parker asked with a quirked brow, mindlessly caressing Hardy, as she waited for his answer.

“Yes, Parker. I do know that. Still pretty sure she’s ‘taking care’ of Eliot all the same.” Popping the tab off the beer once the waitress brought it over, Alec took a long swig, draining most of the cold liquid in one go.

“I’m sure you could do it much better.”

Glancing over at Nate and Sophie, relieved to see that they were too engrossed in each other to pay any attention to Parker’s words, Alec turned his attention back to Parker. “Parker, I really don’t wanna talk about this. Eliot is free to do what and who ever he wants.” He was starting to wonder if it had been a good idea to tell Parker about his feelings for Eliot.

“What if he wants to do you?” Nope. Bad idea. Worst. Idea. Ever.

Slamming the now empty beer bottle onto the table, Alec immediately felt guilty for the way Parker startled, and the way Sophie and Nate were looking over at him in alarm. Reaching out, he placed a hand on hers in apology, noticing that Sophie and Nate had turned back to their own conversation with a small sigh of relief. “Sorry Parker, just...just leave it alone okay? I know you mean well, but I just don’t wanna talk about it.”

Parker was quiet for a moment, back to idly petting Hardy, before she spoke up again, “You know, Eliot has a lot of pride. I’ve known men like him my whole life. They don’t show emotions well.”

Alec was confused, “What are you talking about?”

“Tonight, Hardison. Eliot was beaten. And he almost lost that little girl because of it. He came back and got her back to her father, like we all knew he would. And while I know he’s proud of that, he’s the kind of guy that will more than likely focus on a near miss than the fact that he pulled it out in the end. And people like that, instead of turning to the ones they’re closest to, they pull away. Finding it easier to look for comfort elsewhere, even in the the arms of a stranger.”

“So you’re saying....?”

Parker rolled her eyes, “The same thing I said before. You should go after him. Get rid of the nurse and prove to Eliot that it’s okay to lean on someone every once in a while. Old dogs can learn new tricks, ya know.” Standing up, with Hardy cradled in her arms as if it were a precious gem, Parker gripped Hardison’s shoulder with a bright smile. “I did.”

Watching as the thin blond trotted off, Hardison realized there were facets of Parker that he didn’t know about. And if what she said was right, the same likely held true for Eliot.

Dropping a few bills onto the table to cover his beer and a tip, Alec stood, tipped his head to Nate and Sophie, and headed out the door.

Maybe it was time he swallowed some of his own pride and went after what he really wanted. Namely, Eliot Spencer.

END


End file.
